This recipe for delicious energy chocolate truffles will blow your mind, and your taste buds….in a good way! They taste like dessert while packing in a whole lot of essential nutrients and protein. They require no baking and are easy to make, suitable for adults and children. The main star of this recipe is….wait for it…pumpkin seeds!
These energy chocolate truffles do not require any dates whatsoever. Instead, a little honey is used along with vanilla essence to provide that wonderful sweetness in the middle. A little extra virgin olive oil is needed to bind the pumpkin seeds. The outer shell is milk chocolate, making them a great portable healthier snack. Imagine the taste of Reese’s peanut butter cups but healthier. That’s this recipe.
Benefits of these energy chocolate truffles
- Nutrient packed due to the pumpkin seeds
- Full of brain healthy fats
- Extremely kid-friendly
- Delicious portable snack
- High in fibre
- High in protein
- So easy to make — even with kids
- Taste like dessert
- No-bake summer treat
- Support healthy eating habits
- Great for meal prep and a pre-workout snack
- They taste similar to Reese’s peanut butter cups but doesn’t use any nuts in this recipe!
Are pumpkin seeds healthy?
Pumpkin may be small but they’re jam packed with nutrients. A small handful of pumpkin seeds contains 1 gram of protein and approximately 38 kcal.
They’re a rich source of iron, magnesium and zinc along with traces of other nutrients such as antioxidants. They also contain tryptophan (an amino acid) which has been shown to improve sleep.
They may be associated with health benefits, such as increased fertility, improved heart health, and more balanced blood sugar levels.
Can I make these without chocolate?
Absolutely! The only thing is that they’ll lose their shape quickly if you don’t wrap these up or pop these in a box as they’re rounded pumpkin seed butter along with a few other ingredients. This is what they’ll look like:
How do you make pumpkin seed butter?
Roast the raw pumpkin seeds in the oven at 165ºC (fan assisted) for approximately 12 minutes and then leave out to cool down a little.
Using a food processor, blend these roasted seeds in intervals until they’re smooth. Doing this in intervals ensures that your machine and the seeds don’t overheat. Half way through, pour 1 tsp of vanilla essence, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of honey.
To achieve a smooth runny pumpkin seed butter, you’ll need to blend these for approximately 20 mins. Let your food processor rest for 2-3 mins during each interval.
Then store this in an airtight jar then pop this into the fridge. This should last for approximately 2 months. Although, given the tastiness of this butter, it’s likely to go fairly quickly if you’re anything like me!
Delicious energy chocolate truffles
Equipment
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Pan
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Baking/parchment paper
Materials
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla essence
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 200 grams Pumpkin seeds
- 150 grams Milk chocolate
Instructions
- On a parchment/baking paper lined baking tray, pour your pumpkin seeds and put these in the oven on gas mark 3 for 12 mins. Allow these to cool for a few mins when you take these out of the oven.
- Pour the roasted pumpkin seeds in a food processor and blend on high speed for approximately 10 mins, taking breaks every 3 mins or so. Use a spatula to push down the content during the intervals.
- About half way through, add the extra virgin olive oil, vanilla essence, salt and honey.
- Once blended, using your hands, make small ball shaped truffles. You'll need to apply a little pressure to compact the mixture and then roll using your palms. Set these aside.
- In a bowl, break up your milk chocolate and put on top of a pan with water. The bowl should not touch the water. Heat the water on low heat and this should slowly melt the chocolate. Stir regularly ensuring that the chocolate does not burn.
- Take each of the pumpkin seed butter balls and coat these in the melted chocolate using a fork. Then take each of these out and place on the baking tray with the parchment paper you used in step 1. Repeat this for all the balls then place these in the fridge for 2-4 hours. Take these out and enjoy!
Notes
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